Barclays is one of only three banks still paying dividends. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Dividends paid out by UK banks last year stood at half what they did before the financial crisis.

In 2007, over 20% of all dividends paid out from British listed equities came from the seven main banks. By 2012, and following five tumultuous years, the dividends made up just 10.6% of the total paid out, and the number of banks paying them stood at three.

The total amount of banking dividends in 2007 was £13.3bn but sank to £5.8bn in both 2009 and 2010. In 2012, £8.5bn was paid out, according to the latest dividend monitor from Capita Registrars.

Dividends were slashed or stopped as banks struggled to deal with the aftermath of the financial crisis.

Last year, just Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered were still paying dividends. Neither Lloyds nor RBS, both of which were bailed out, have paid dividends since the worst period of the financial crisis in 2008.

Justin Cooper, chief executive of Capita Registrars, said the effect of the dividend drop on pension funds had been significant, as they depended on steady income from investments to pay pensioners and policy holders.

Pension funds have been reducing their holdings of equities over the last decade to avoid the volatility of the market and secure more stable, fixed returns.

A survey from the National Association of Pension Funds last year showed a sharp drop since 2011 – from 12.2% to 9.9% – of assets invested in UK equities.

"Pension funds have 'de-risked' by reducing their equity investment in recent years so that they can look for longer maturity assets that are a more accurate match to their liabilities. They are now more heavily invested in gilts and corporate bonds," a spokesman said.

Cooper said that while Barclays was now increasing its dividend payments again, the bank was still distributing a third of what it was in 2008.

Meanwhile Standard Chartered had doubled its dividends since 2007, from £570m to £1.3bn last year.